Month: June 2014

OpenSky distribution programs afford OpenSky brands additional opportunities for sales and exposure on large, national retail platforms. This is part of our mission to help you grow your business both on and beyond OpenSky.

Brands that are chosen to participate in OpenSky distribution programs ship quickly, have beautiful product imagery, and can commit to the firm inventory requirements of our partners.

All distribution programs will require you to ship with 48 hours of receiving your order with a packing slip inside the box. If any brand fails to meet these requirements, they will not be invited to participate in future programs.

How you receive orders: All orders you receive from distribution programs will flow directly into your OpenSky dashboard, making fulfillment easy and seamless for you.

How you are paid: You will be paid within 40 days of receipt of the order.

LivingSocial: Overview

Products selected for LivingSocial distribution will be merchandised on LivingSocial.com for 14 days. Brands whose products are deemed a success by LivingSocial may be asked to participate in sales on a regular basis after the first run.

The LivingSocial distribution program is managed as a wholesale arrangement, which is different from the revenue share you regularly have with OpenSky. All orders are fulfilled via drop ship. You will provide us with your best wholesale price and your best retail price; from there, we will work with you and LivingSocial to price your item as competitively as possible to sell large volume.

We’re looking for products across all OpenSky categories. There are immediate opportunities for brands, and we are also planning up to 12 weeks in advance. So, if you are able to reserve the required inventory for a later date, you may submit for a future promotion.

Living Social: Requirements for Submission

– You must submit your best wholesale price available for the product you are submitting, taking into consideration the potential volume of the promotion.

– You must have a minimum of 1,000 units of the item, though we prefer items with upwards of 2,000 units.

– We will consider products across price ranges, but our focus is on goods that can drive $20,000+ in sales.

Within the next two weeks, we will begin an exclusive distribution program with Sears, one of the nation’s top 10 largest retailers. The program, called OpenSky Fresh Finds, only at Sears, will launch first on Sears.com, with dedicated in-store displays to follow shortly thereafter.

Sears has been a retail powerhouse for generations, and we are thrilled to be partnering with them to bring the Sears shopper OpenSky’s unique and inspiring brands.

Every week, OpenSky Fresh Finds, only at Sears will showcase a new collection of apparel, accessories, and lifestyle goods around one of the season’s exciting trends. The first three collections have been fully confirmed and are now closed, with the themes “Celebrate America”, “Love-a-Fair”, and “Rio.” Brands that were accepted into these first collections have been contacted, and will be informed of the confirmed launch date very shortly.

We are now accepting submissions for the next four collections.

Brands that are selected to participate in the OpenSky Fresh Finds, only at Sears program will ship orders using a Sears UPS account–Sears pays for shipping on all orders! In store, the OpenSky Fresh Finds, only at Sears displays will showcase several styles from the week’s featured collection. Customers will purchase products via tablet at the in-store display, and orders will be shipped to customers.

OpenSky Fresh Finds, only at Sears: Requirements for Submission

– In order to be considered for an upcoming OpenSky Fresh Finds, only at Sears collection, you must complete the OpenSky Fresh Finds, only at Sears submission form in full. You will complete one application per product.

– For each product you submit, you must submit a UPC code. If your product has variations (size, color, etc.) you must submit a unique UPC for each variation. If you do not already have UPCs for your products, you may buy them at http://buyabarcode.com.

– You must be able to offer a 20% discount on your product(s).

– You must provide us with your UPS account information (for address validation). Please note, Sears is paying for shipping.

– You must set aside a minimum of 20 units, but 50+ are preferable. The objective of the program is to introduce Sears’s national audience to OpenSky’s innovative brands—therefore, we’re looking for brands with sufficient inventory to cover a national audience.

Please review the inspiration images for the four summer collections we are currently composing–only products that fit these concepts will be considered for the next four collections:

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After over 1 million notifications sent and more than $1mm in sales generated for the merchant community, we’re excited to announce that notifications are out of beta and live for all Merchants to use to grow their business.

Notifications are a very clear and simple way for you to promote to your followers. By creating a simple promotional post, you’ll trigger an email and app notification to your followers.

Here’s how they work:

+ Any post you create with one of the following promotions – 25% off or more, free shipping, exclusive sale, storewide sale – will trigger a notification (email and push).

In the end, the more followers you have, the more notifications will be sent. Posts are your way to communicate directly with shoppers thereby triggering notifications that help drive sales.

Go make a Post. Send a Notification. Ship an Order. Grow your business.

I’m proud to share with you an early look at the first OpenSky branded distribution program that we’ve launched with LivingSocial.

This initiative is core to our mission of helping OpenSky entrepreneurs grow their exposure and sales–both on and beyond OpenSky–with the OpenSky Dashboard serving as your single, simple platform that you use to grow your business.

Distribution opportunities will be available exclusively for all active OpenSky brands only. Qualifying brands will meet our quality, fulfillment, and activity guidelines. I believe this opportunity has the potential to be substantial for those that are invited to participate.

We’ll be sharing more details with the whole community as the third-party distribution programs roll-out over the coming weeks, but today, please take a look at the first OpenSky brands on Living Social (you’ll see the friendly OpenSky logo in the right hand corner of these goods).

In the coming weeks, we will roll-out another exclusive OpenSky distribution program with a national retail platform in multiple categories. The next partnership, called OpenSky Fresh Finds, will consist of a curated assortment of products from OpenSky merchant brands shared on a weekly basis. The assortment will be merchandised to a national audience via email campaigns, on the retailer’s homepage, and ultimately in-store in exclusive OpenSky Fresh finds displays.